thomas



'- Model) 5 Sheets-Sheet 1.

v s. T. THOMAS. APPARATUS FOR CLEANSING OR WASHING AND DRYING GALVANIZEDr SHEETS.

Patented Dec. 3,

AN liREW BGRMMM. FHC'TOUTMO. WASHINGTOILJC,

(N Model.) A 5 SheetsShe et 2.

. A S. T. THOMAS. APPARATUS FOR CLEANSING 0R WASHING-AND DRYINGGALVANIZED SHEETS.

No. 550,806. Patented-Dec. 3, 1895.

AN DREW RGRMIAM. PHUTO-IJTIIQWASHINGYDN. DC

(No Model.) 5 Sheets-Sheet '3.

S.T.THOMAS. APPARATUS FOR CLEANSING 0R WASHING AND DRYING GALVANIZEDSHEETS.

n u q u a a u n q u n u a no a a a a u n u n n a nu a e) a oe o ANDREWEGRAHAMfHOTO-LITHQ WASHINGTON. DC.

(No Model.) 5 Sheets-Sheet 4.

S. T. THOMAS. APPARATUS FOR CLEANSING OR WASHING AND DRYING GALVANIZEDSHEETS. No. 550,806. I Patented Dec. 3,1895.

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(No Model.) 5 Sheets-Sheet 5.

s. QTH MA APPARATUS FOR CLEANSING OR WASHING AND DRYING GALVANIZEDSHEETS.

No. 550,806, Patented Dec. 3, 1895.

ANDREW B GRAHAM,PHDTO-UTMQWASHINGTOILD C 'NJITED I STATES PATENT OFFicE.

STEPHEN THORPE THOMAS, OE \VOLVERHAMPTON, ENGLAND, ASSIG-NOR TO DAVIESBROTHERS & 00., LIMITED, OF SAME PLACE.

APPARATUS FOR CLEANSING 0R WASHING AND DRYING GALVANIZED SHEETS.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 550,806, dated December3, 1895.

Application filed May 31, 1894. Serial No. 512,974. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern: I

Be it known that I, STEPHEN THoRPE THOMAS, a subject of the Queen ofGreat Britain, residing at lVolverhampton, in the county of Stafford,England, have invented new and useful Improvements in Apparatuses forCleansing or Washing and Drying Galvanized Sheets; and I do herebydeclare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description ofthe invention, which will en. ble others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to an apparatus to be employed in the galvanizingof metal sheets, and particularly to that part of galvanizingapparatuses whereby the sheet is treated after it leaves thegalvanizing-bath. After the hot sheet leaves the bath the flux thereoncontinues to boil and rapidly dries up and burns fast to the metal,forming a spot which it is difficult to remove. Therefore it isdesirable to dissolve and wash away the flux before it shall have hadtime to dry and burn. I

Now this invention has for its object to cause every portion of thesurface of a sheet to be Washed almost immediately (or as nearly so asmay be conveniently practicable) after the coating metal has set orcrystallized, so that the flux may be dissolved and washed off before itcan be burned or dried hard; to cause also any other impurities to bewashed away at the same time; to insure, without the use of adrying-stove, that the sheet shall be so rapidly and thoroughly dried asto avoid any liability of oxidation, and,finally,to effect aconsiderable saving in labor and insure a better and more uniformappearance of the surface of the sheet.

The above object is effected, according to this invention, by carryingthe sheets on their passage from the galvanizing-bath first betweenwashing brushes or appliances,which project the water at a high velocityand in the form of spray against the surfaces of the sheets, and thenbetween drying-brushes to which drying absorbent material is suppliedand which dry and clean the sheets, the sheets being entered between thewashing brushes or appliances as soon as may be conveniently possibleafter the coating metal on their fortical application of it withreference to the" accompanying drawings, of which- Figure 1 is alongitudinal vertical midsection through the part of the apparatus,constructed according to this invention, for use in washing and dryinggalvanized sheets in the manner of the invention. The portion of theapparatus which is below the broken line z 2, Fig. 1, is shown detachedon the same sheet as Fig. 1; Fig. 2 is a longitudinal verticalmid-section through the part of the apparatus used for finally cleaningthe sheets after they have been washed and dried in the part of theapparatus illustrated in Figs. 1 and 1. Fig. 3 is a plan of the part ofthe apparatus seen in Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a plan of the part of theapparatus seen in Fig.

.2. Fig. 5 is an end elevation of the part of the apparatus used fordrying the sheets, as seen from the direction of the arrow as, Fig. 1.

The portion of the apparatus illustrated in Figs. 2 and 4 is shown onseparate sheets from the portion illustrated in Figs. 1 and 3 simply forconvenience of illustration. The foriner is really connected with thelatter, and the parts through which the connection is made are shown inthe several figures as if broken off.

A is the delivery side or end of the galvanizing-bath.

ff are a pair of rolls of which the operative surfaces consist of anumber of projections terminating outward in ends of small area, so asnot to injure the coating of the sheets. These rolls correspond to therolls ,7" f described in the specification of Moses liayliss UnitedStates patent, dated March 15, 1892, No. 471,065, (except that thenumber of projections is greatly increased, and the projections areshaped as small pyramids with flattened tops for convenience in formingthem in the same pieces of metal as the rolls,) and are similarly placedin relation to the metal in the bath. The rolls are positively driven,as is the case with Bayliss rolls. They draw the sheets out from themolten coating metal, and as they do so the sheets fall onto a drum 0,having projections v," of small end area on its periphery. This drumcorresponds to the drum 0 described in the aforesaid patent and ispositively driven in a direction to convey the sheets away from thebath. A drum 0, like the drum 0, is mounted at a point some distancefrom the drum C, and endless chains 0 form with the drums a shortcarrier system similar to the carrier system described in the saidBayliss patent. The sheets are carried forward in turn by this carrierand fed thereby between a pair of brushes Z) l), which rotate rapidly inthe directions respectively indicated by the arrows adjacent thereto,the one above and the other below the sheet, the ends or tips of thefibers or bristles composing the brushes being about two inches from thesurface of a sheet as it passes between the brushes, so that they do notcome in contact with the sheet. These brushes are housed in a suitablecasing or chamber B. ater at a boiling temperature or at as high atemperature as it can conveniently be obtained is supplied through aperforated tube a at the top of the casing B onto the upper brush andwater is projected sidewise from a perforated tube d in the casingagainst the lower brush. The brushes as they rotate throw the water in afine spray and with considerable force against the upper and lowersurfaces of a sheet, and the dirty water, falling to the bottom of thecasing B, runs away through an outlet-slit 7.0 into a trough F below,from which it passes off through a pipe 6 to the drain. The slit runsthe whole length, or approximately so, of the bottom of the case, andthe dirt is thus readily washed out through the slit by the water as itflows out therethrough. The sheet is guided between upper and lowerguides 72. h through the casing 13, within which the brushes Z) I)rotate, and as it passes forward from between the washing-brushes Z) Z)it is led by the guides h 72 to and enters between a pair ofpositivelydriven feed-rolls g g, each formed with narrow collars g,having plain cylindrical bearing-surfaces. The collars are formednarrow, so as to bear on a small width only'of the surface of a sheetand thus minimize the risk of rolling onto the surface any impurities.The rolls 9 g feed the sheet on between guides 10' 1' similar to theguides h h, and said guides i i lead it between a pair of brushes jj ina casing D. These brushes rotate rapidly in the direction indicated. bythe arrows adjacent thereto and they are so mounted as to contact withand rub the passing plate, the one the upper and the other the lowersurface thereof. The casing D is provided with a hopper E at the top,and sawdust (sharps or other material suitable for the purpose) issupplied to said hopper and passes therefrom into the upper portion ofthe cas- I a chute G into a well H, Fig. 1, from whence it is elevatedby elevator chains or bands J, carrying elevator-buckets J and isdelivered into the upper end of an inclined chute K, which carries it tothe hopper E. Thus the sawdust is used over and over again. The lowerforward end of the chute K is suspended by a rod n from a bearer 0, andthe hinder upper end is fixed to the lower end of an arm 19, which ispivoted at its upper end to a support q. A connecting-rod ris pivoted atone end to the arm p and is engaged at its other end with a crank-pin sin the upper wheel 8 of the elevator. Thus once during each revolutionof the wheels the upper end of the chute K is moved or swung outward andallows a bucket, which has already delivered its contents into suchchute, to pass down clear of the latter.

The special form of elevator described and illustrated is not of courseessential, as any convenient arrangement of elevator may be used, and ifthe elevator chains (or bands) are carried sufficiently inclined it isobvious that the chute K need not to be moved outward for a bucket toclear it, as ample clearance may be given for a bucket to clear thechute after delivering its contents thereinto.

The elevator device is mainly indicated in dotted lines in the drawings.

As the sheets are washed while still in a heated condition and retaintheir heat to a considerable extent as they pass out from the casing orwashing-chamber B, they become considerably dried before entering thecasing D, and thus a quantity of sawdust may be passed through thechamber D a considerable number of times before it is too damp to beefficient in drying the sheets, and when it is required to be changed itcan be removed from the well H and fresh sawdust supplied thereto.

The sheets are carried forward from the drying-brushesjj along theguides t, which pass through the chamber D and extend beyond it andenter between a pair of feed-rolls t t, of which each roll is formedwith narrow collars 15, (substantially similar to the rolls 9,) whichpress against narrow surfaces of the sheets only, and thus minimize therisk of rolling any sawdust adhering to the sheets onto the surfacesthereof. The sheets are fed forward in an-upward direction, as seen inFig. 2, and

between brushes 1 o, rotating rapidly in the directions indicated by thearrows adjacent thereto, which brush away any sawdust adhering to thesurfaces of the sheets and thoroughly clean the surfaces. The sheets aredrawn from between the brushes o 'v by means of rolls d d, which aresimilar to the rolls 9 and i before described, and as the sheets emergefrom the rolls cl they are deflected by curved guides b onto a carrierhaving chains 0, such as the carrier described in the said Baylisspatent, by means of which they are conveyed away to any point desired.

The brushes o v are shown in Fig. 2 as placed in position to operate ona sheet while the same is in a nearly vertical position, so that anyparticles of dirt may readily fall clear of the sheet when detachedtherefrom by the brushes.

The means for driving the various portions of the apparatus may, ofcourse, be modified.

In the particular apparatus illustrated the lower of the pair of brushesj is driven by means of a belt passing around a pulley on an overheadshaft (not shown in the drawings) and around the pulley 6, fixed on oneend of the brushspindle. The upper brush j is driven by means of a beltf from a pulley on the opposite end of the lower brush-spindle to thaton which the pulley e is fixed. The lower brush 1) is driven by means ofa belt 3 from the spindle of the lower brush j, and the upper brush 1)is driven by means of a belt I from a pulley on the opposite end of thespinated.

dle of the lower brush (1 to that on which the pulley is fixed, which isoperated by the belt 5 One of the brushes '1) is driven by a belt a froma pulley on an overhead shaft, (not shown,) which passes around a pulley1? on the brush-spindle, and the other brush 1: is driven by a belt fromthe spindle of its fellow brush. The chains 0 of the carrier beyond therolls dd pass, at the inner end of the carrier for convenience in thegeneral arrange ment, around drums L, M, and N, Fig. 2; but of courseone drum only may be used at such end, if preferred. The drum N isdriven by means of a belt from a pulley on an overhead shaft, (notshown,) which passes around the pulley 0, Fig. 4, fixed on the spindleof such drum, and thus the carrier-chains are oper- The lower roll t isdriven by means of a chain 74; from a wheel on the spindle of the drumN. One of the rolls d is driven by means of a chain Z from a wheel onthe spindle of the lower roll 2, and the lower roll g is operated, also,by means of a chain on from a wheel on the spindle of the lower roll 25.The drum 0 of the carrier adjacent to the galvanizing-bath is operatedby means of a belt 11, Fig. 1, from the spindle of the lower roll 9. Thedrum 0 is of course operated by the car rier-chains c. The rolls of eachpair are geared together by a toothed wheel on one gearing with atoothed wheel on the other. The elevator is driven by means of a chain12 from the spindle of the drum N, which passes around a wheel on thelower spindle r of the elevator.

It is not of courseessential that in some instances belts and in someinstances chains should be used for driving one shaft or spindle fromanother. The drawings have been made from the machine as fitted up, andas in some cases belts are shown and in others chains are indicated thedescription has been made to correspond therewith.

In order to obtain the fullest advantage in washing the sheets, theyshould commence to enter between the spraying-brushes immediately thecoating metal has set or crystallized on their forward ends, and regardto this should be had in fixing the distance between the drum 0 and thespraying-brushes. Thin sheets, such as No. 26 Birmingham wire-gage,require, in order that they may be properly coated, to pass out from themolten coating metal at the rate of about eighteen feet per minute, andthe distance from the center of the brushes to the surface of the moltenmetal, measured along the surface .of the sheet, should be about fourfeet. Thicker sheets should, as is well understood, leave the bathsomewhat more slowly. They retain their heat longer than the thinnersheets, and the coating metal does not in consequence crystallize soquickly. It is found in practice that four to five feet is a suitabledistance from the center of the spraying-brushes b b to the center ofthe drying-brushes j j, whatever the thickness of the sheets which arebeing treated.

The cleaning brushes a; '0 may be placed at any desired distance fromthe dryingbrushes j j.

The washing, drying, and cleaning brushes may each be conveniently abouttwelve inches in diameter. 7

The spraying or washing brushes may be run at a velocity of about twohundred and sixty revolutions per minute and the drying and cleaningbrushes at a velocity of about one hundred and thirty revolutions perminute.

The operative parts of the brushes may be of fiber, such as is used forbrushes for other purposes, or they may be of bristles.

In order to enable the distance between the washing-brushes and the drum0 to be adjusted to suit different conditions of working and thus insurein any case that each portion of the surface of a sheet shall be washedalmost immediately after the coating metal thereon has set, and at thesame time to maintain the relative positions ofthe other parts of theapparatus, the pairs of brushes, guide-rolls, drums G, L, M, and N andthe elevator may be mounted on slides P, fitted so as to be capable ofbeing shifted longitudinally along fixed V-guides B, through the mediumof screws S, fitted to turn in lugs to on the ends of the guides R andscrewed through lugs c on the ends of the slides P, and'of being held bysuch screws S in any position into which they have been moved. Ahand-wheel w is fixed on each screw S, whereby the latter is operated. Rare shown in transverse section in Fig. 5. The mechanism described ismounted in and on a suitable frame X of any kind best suited to theoccasion.

Then it is desired to vary the distance between the rollers f at thebath .and the washing-brushes b, the drums O and C will, of course, beseparated; and this will require that the chains 0 be lengthened orshortened, as required, by removing links therefrom or adding linksthereto.

The brushes 1; are indicated in Fig. 4 merely by a rectangle formed withbroken lines.

By the employment of this apparatus every portion of the surface of asheet may be washed almost immediately after the coating metal has setor crystallized, as the sheets pass through the brushes at the rate ofspeed at which they leave the bath, and consequently at the speed atwhich the setting of the metal takes place along their surfaces,

.and thus the flux is dissolved and washed off before it can becomeburned, and any other impurities are of course washed away also. A smallamount of water only is required and the dirty water passes away at oncefrom the bottom of the washing-chamber and is not used over again. Thesheets retain their heat to a considerable degree while passing betweenthe drying-brushes and passout from the drying casing or chamber in adry condition, so that there is no need to place them subsequently in adrying-stove. The rapidity of the whole operation, which is entirelyautomatic, does not allow time for oxidation.

A considerable saving in labor iseffected over the old methods and abetter and more uniform appearance of the surface of the sheets insured.

It must be borne in mind that in the case of any but a short sheet theforward end of the sheet commences to be washed before the hinder endthereof is clear from the bath, so that all of the operations set forthas successive may be taking place simultaneously on the same sheet. Inthe case of a ten-foot sheet, for example, five feet of it will usuallybe in the bath when the forward end reaches the washing devices.However, the thickness of the sheet, the temperature of the bath, andthat of the room will effect the setting of the coating metal on thesheet. In fixing the position of the washing-chamber with relation tothe bath the attendant is guided by his experience.

The apparatus above described is intended more especially for use withapparatus which delivers the sheets automatically from the bath to thewashing-brushes above described and is especially suitable foremployment with delivery-rolls of the character of those by which thesheets are delivered from the gal- The slides P and V-guides'vanizing-bath described in the said Bayliss patent-that is to say, withthe delivery-rolls ff above described.

It has not been deemed necessary to illustrate the bath and the deliverydevices for the sheet connected therewith, as these devices are commonand are not actually included in my invention. The devices for thispurpose shown in the Bayliss patent before mentioned will serve.

I prefer to employ brushes for projecting the washing-water and thegranular absorbent material for drying the sheets upon the latter; butsome equivalent rotating or revolving appliance which would not becalled a brush might, especially for the washer, answer as a substitute.Therefore I do not limit myself strictly to a fibrous brush.

Having thus described my invention, I claim 1. In an apparatus forcleansing galvanized metal sheets, the combination with a moving carrierfor carrying the hot sheet from the point where it leaves thegalvanizing bath to and through the cleansing mechanism, of a washer forthe sheet situated at that point in the travel of the sheet where thecoating metal will have set but the flux thereon will he still unburned,said washer comprising means for projecting water against both faces ofthe sheet, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In an apparatus for cleansing galvanized metal sheets, thecombination with a washing chamber or casing, having inlets for wateranda passageor way through it for the sheet to be washed, of a pair ofrotating brushes or the like within said casing, whereby the waterentering the casing is projected by said brushes against the plate inthe form of spray, substantially as set forth.

3. In an apparatus for carrying and cleansing a hot metal sheet, freshfrom the coating bath, the combination with the drum 0 and deliveryrolls f, fixed with relation to each other, the frame X, slides mountedon the frame X, and adapted to be moved along said frame toward and fromthe drum 0, the drum 0, mounted on the said slides,the chains about thedrums C and .C, mechanism for driving the drum 0, the washing apparatus,mounted on the said slides, and guides adapted to receive the sheet fromthe drum 0 and guide it through the washing apparatus, substantially asset forth.

In witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

STEPHEN THORPE THOMAS.

Witnesses ROBERT M. LISTER, ROBERT G. GRovEs.

